The word 'critical" has three meanings which are dangerous, important, and disapproving. The purpose of this blog is to examine important or over-looked cultural, political, artistic, or historical issues of our time. Also, this blog is intended to be educational.

Saturday, March 18, 2017

Controversial Photography

Here are some photos that have sparked conversations and
controversy.

WARNING: Some of these images are
shocking and not for sensitive viewers.

Thomas Hoepker’s 9/11 photograph (2001)

The
German photographer’s image shows a group of seemingly relaxed young Americans
with the burning twin towers in the background. The picture was published in
2006 making the subjects out as callous. A man later identified himself as one
of the group and expressed that they were “in a profound state of shock and
disbelief”. The photograph is now considered as one of the defining images of
the September 11th attacks.

Image of the Sudan Famine by Kevin
Carter (1993)

This
Pulitzer Prize winning photograph became a vivid representation of the harsh
realities of Sudan’s famine. The photographer, Kevin Carter, encountered and
photographed a toddler who had stopped to rest whilst crawling towards some
food, as a vulture waited close-by. Many were concerned with the fate of the
girl and criticized Carter for not helping the child, calling him “another
predator”. Carter later committed suicide, making reference to the
devastating images he had been exposed to in his suicide note.

The Falling Man, Richard Drew (2001)

Whilst
covering 9/11 for the Associated Press, Richard Drew, took a number of
photographs of men and women who chose to jump to their deaths rather than be
burned in the fire. One image, however, stood out from the rest. Dubbed “The
falling man”, it depicted a man in what has been described as a ‘calm’ moment
whilst falling from the tower. Many opposed the publishing of the photo, citing
that the image was too disturbing.

Napalm ( 1972)

This
haunting image is the work of another Associated Press photographer, Huynh Cong
Ut, which has been credited as contributing to the end of the Vietnam war. The
children in the photograph were escaping from a village that had just been
attacked. The naked girl – who was burning at the time – came to
represent the horrors of the war. The photograph became a symbol of the massive
peace movement that took place in the ’70s.

The Burning Monk (1963)

During
Vietnam’s Diem regime, a group of Buddhist monks held a protest against their
oppressive treatment by the Catholic regime. What started as a simple
procession quickly turned into a grim image. Quang-Duc, a 66-year-old monk set
himself alight in a meditative position and remained still and silent as the
flames ate away at him. When this was captured by photographer Malcome Brown,
it gave the world a glimpse of the situation within the country and even
prompted president JFK to step in.

Iraqi War Prisoner (2002)

Taken
by Jean-Marc Bouju, this image from the Iraqi war both shocked and touched the
world. The prisoner and his son were being held at a U.S. army base camp and
the father had been hooded and hand-cuffed. The boy was terrified by the sight
and the man’s hands were later freed to enable him to comfort his son. The
image was awarded the 2003 World Press Photo of the year.

Fire on Marlborough Street (1975)

Stanley
Forman’s photograph won a Pulitzer Prize and caused the updating of legislation
regarding fire escapes in the United States. Two girls are captured falling,
after a fire escape collapsed beneath them. The 19-year-old reportedly
broke the fall of the younger girl, who later died in hospital. The public
reacted by accusing the photographer of invading the privacy of the victims and
described newspapers that had published the image as being sensationalist.

Omayra Sanchez (1985)

The
13-year-old Colombian girl was caught in the eruption of Nevado del Ruiz. She
was frozen in an image by Frank Fournier, shortly before she died. Omayra had
been trapped for three days in the ruins of her home, the Red Cross requested
help with her rescue from the government, but their requests were in vain. Many
were disturbed at the idea of witnessing the young girl’s last moments and more
were shocked that the government did not intervene.

Samar Hassan (2005)

Chris
Hondros was covering the war in Iraq when he witnessed the events that would
create what could be the most devastating image to come out of the Iraq war. An
Iraqi family failed to stop at a checkpoint and were soon confronted with
bullets from the American soldiers. Hondros photographed the 5-year-old Samar
Hassan, crying whilst covered in her parent’s blood.

Michael Jackson (2009)

Shortly
after his death, an image of the King of Pop, during his very last moments was
featured by OK! magazine
and a number of other publications. The photograph of a frail Michael was
considered by many to be in bad taste.

Doomed (2012)

We
have to add an 11th photo. In a very recent photo taken by a
freelance journalist for the New York Post, R. Umar Abbasi, a man is shown moments before
dying. The photographer said that he inadvertently stumbled upon the
killing of a Korean man, Ki Suk Han. He was pushed on the subway tracks in NYC
by an unidentified assailant. The paper ran the photo, it read: “Pushed on the
subway track, this man is about to die. DOOMED.”

The 7/7 London Bombers
(2005)

On July
7th, 2005, four Islamic terrorists exploded a series of bombs on London
Underground trains. 52 lives were unfortunately lost during the attack. The
bombers are now known as Mohammad Sidique Khan, Germaine Lindsay, Shehzad
Tanweer and Hasib Hussain, and were recorded by CCTV when entering Luton train
station. On September 1st, 2005, al-Qaeda officially claimed responsibility for
the London bombings, despite the fact an official British government inquiry
found that the tape may have been heavily edited after the attack, and also
that the suicide bombers may not have had direct assistance from al-Qaeda. Iranian
newspapers blamed the attacks on both the British and American authorities, and
stated they had done so to escalate harassment of Muslims in Europe.

Brook Shields' Nude Photos

The nude Brook Shields photos were taken
by Gary Gross, an American fashion photographer, who took a series of
photographs that would become one of the most controversial collections in
history. The above image is of 10-year-old Brooke Shields, who is now a famous
actress, and shows her standing nude, as well as sitting in a bathtub wearing
make-up. Gary Ross was working on the projectThe Woman in the
Child, which
aimed to reveal the femininity in prepubescent girls in comparison to adult
women. Brooke’s mother consented to the photographs.

Executing
a Viet Cong Prisoner in Saigon (1968)

The
picture is controversial by Eddie Adams and it was taken during the Vietnam War
on February 1, 1968. The man is being executed in cold blood and became an
anti-war propaganda. What the picture does not tell you is what happened
before, who the men in the photo were, and how they get there, at that moment,
playing these roles, of executor and victim. The full story was that around 4:30 A.M., Lém (who was later killed by
General
Nguyen Ngoc Loan) led a sabotage unit along with Viet Cong tanks to
attack the Armor Camp in Go Vap. After communist troops took control of the
base, Lém arrested Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Tuan with his family and forced
him to show them how to drive tanks. When Lieutenant Colonel Tuan refused to
cooperate, Lém killed him and all members of his family including his
80-year-old mother. There was only one survivor, a seriously injured
10-year-old boy. Adams later apologized in person to General Nguyễn
and his family for the damage it did to his reputation. When Loan died of
cancer in Virginia, Adams praised him: "The guy was a hero. America should
be crying. I just hate to see him go this way, without people knowing anything
about him."The photo won Adams the 1969Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography, though he
was later said to have regretted its impact. The image became an anti-war icon.